Chapter 8 #4
“My employer prefers discretion, you must understand that. There’s no guarantee of a meet, but I have been authorized to extend to you and your group an invitation to the fundraising gala set for Friday night at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The offer is contingent on you completing the project I gave you today, of course. ”
Katie took a sip of her wine and openly played up her reaction to the offer. She frowned, blonde brows furrowed just a bit as she thought it over. “Of course. I’m sure it won’t be a problem. We’re all very good at our jobs.”
Niko smiled thinly. “I’m sure.”
Sean set his napkin on the table and stood up, offering everyone a genial smile. “If you’ll excuse me. I’m going to find the men’s room.”
Alexei caught Trevor’s eye from across the room as he got to his feet, head tipping toward Katie, indicating he should keep watch. “I’m go with.”
Sean gave him an exasperated look. “Seriously?”
Niko chuckled at them, reserving his words for Alexei, as if they existed on the same level when they didn’t. “I see Jamie employs people with a similar mindset to his own. Don’t worry about keeping us waiting. We’ll order dessert without you.”
It took Alexei a few seconds to figure out just what the hell Niko was implying. Sean grabbed him by the arm before he could open his mouth and lay into Niko once he understood.
Just go with it, Sean said through the thin mental link Katie had woven between their minds.
Niko’s laughter followed them away from the table. Alexei shook off Sean’s grip with an easy motion before following the other man out of the dining room proper. The toilets were down the short hall right outside the hostess kiosk.
“You’re supposed to act like we’re friendly colleagues,” Sean hissed under his breath as they passed a woman coming out of the ladies’ room.
“Niko thinks we more,” Alexei retorted.
Sean rolled his eyes. “I can’t imagine what gave him that impression last night.”
Alexei scowled at Sean’s back as the other man opened the men’s room door.
Between one second and the next, Alexei went from annoyed to very fucking pissed as Sean was grabbed by someone hidden behind the door and yanked into the bathroom.
A fist crashed into the side of Sean’s face before he could yell out a warning.
Sean went down.
Alexei moved in.
The door tried to shut on his face, so he kicked it inward without a second thought, moving with the swift deadliness that had been trained into him.
He didn’t think, just struck first, grabbing the man standing over Sean by the hair and shirt collar and slamming him face-first into the sink.
Blood spattered over the white marble as the guy slithered to the floor, clearly stunned.
Alexei recognized them—the two from the bar who’d left earlier—even as his focus narrowed to the fight.
Alexei spun in the tight space of the bathroom, foot lashing out to catch the man waiting behind the door and coming after him in the knee before he snapped his leg up and caught the man in the face, right in the mouth.
The man stumbled backward, swearing around a mouthful of blood and broken teeth, half-hunched over but already gearing up for another attack.
Alexei moved forward, fully intending on—
Don’t kill him! Katie snapped harshly into his mind
—brutally maiming the piece of shit, when a hand grabbed his ankle.
Before he could kick free, Alexei was pulled up short by the first man he’d rammed face-first into the sink falling through his body.
He didn’t even feel it beyond the odd sensation of air blowing across his body when there was no breeze present, and Alexei took a reflexive step back out of sheer shock.
He glanced down, seeing that it was Sean who had a firm grip on his ankle.
“Donnelly twins. Cillian’s go-to assassins. They have cyanide needles in their fingertips,” Sean got out before withdrawing his phase power and letting Alexei go, spitting blood on the floor.
Need to scramble their memories. Can’t let them know we’re metahumans, Sean added over the mental links.
I’ll handle it, Katie replied.
Alexei ignored their mental byplay in favor of slamming his foot down on the first man’s hand and ramming his knee into the guy’s face.
What teeth hadn’t broken during their first go-round absolutely shattered this time.
Alexei dodged the swipe of his other hand, seeing the glint of metal at the tips of his fingers, the bioware a dark pattern beneath the skin.
Alexei kicked the breath out of him before picking him up by the hair and shoulder and tossing him through the nearest stall door.
The guy went headfirst into the wall, sliding down to sprawl over the toilet.
He didn’t move after that.
The second man got to his feet, hands raised, the snarl on his face marred by the jagged edges of broken teeth and a nose bent decisively off-center.
Alexei let him close in, watching his hands and not his face, waiting for the minute motions that would telegraph his next move.
He was more brawler than anything else; probably liked to get up close and personal with their targets to inject the poison, which was fine with Alexei.
The man lunged forward a couple of times, hands swiping out with poison-tipped fingers.
Alexei dodged each attack and lured the man in close before letting loose.
He grabbed the hand punching his way and snapped the wrist with a twist of his arm.
The man howled, and Alexei cut him off by ramming his forearm into the guy’s throat.
He collapsed to the floor with a raspy groan, gasping for air.
Alexei gave him a hard kick in the head to keep him down.
At that point, shouts from security outside the bathroom door reached his ears, and Alexei raised his voice. “Need help in here!”
He turned and extended a hand to Sean as the bathroom door opened behind them and got stuck on a body, hauling the agent to his feet.
Sean wiped at his mouth, smearing blood from his split lip over his cheek.
Alexei grabbed one of the white rolled-up towels in a basket between the two sinks and waved it under the faucet until it was saturated with cold water.
Security finally pushed their way inside as Alexei gripped Sean’s chin with gentle fingers to clean the blood off his face and gently press the cloth against his split lip.
“Should duck next time,” he said.
Sean shot him a withering look before knocking his hand aside to deal with the mess Alexei had made.